Phoenix Wildlife Zoo & Aquarium

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While visiting family in Phoenix we decided to feed our mutual love of animals by visiting Phoenix’s Wildlife Zoo and Aquarium. I have to be honest…I was wondering how it was possible to have a zoo in the intolerable Phoenix heat. (Thankfully it was a perfect 88 degrees during my fall visit.) Well, it turns out the park was built on an old piece of agricultural property with TONS of mature trees and lots of luxurious shade.

Highlights for me were watching people feed the giraffes, eating next to the shark tank, petting a manta ray, colorful poison frogs, black panthers, penguins, turtles, white tigers, a sloth, and hundreds of lovely birds.

I never grow tired of admiring exotic animals who seem well cared for. It’s a wonderful way to visit with family who I don’t get to see often enough.

So here’s to family homecomings shared with furry friends!

http://www.wildlifeworld.com

Please excuse the lack of fancy good camera photos. These are a few fun photos taken with my iPhone.

   
    
    
    
   

Brownshill Dolmen – County Carlow Ireland

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There are many things that make visiting the Celtic world interesting.  Dolmen, Burial Mounds, and Stone Circles are certainly some of them.  Fascinating, powerful, energetic, mystical, and unknown.  Archaeologists have spent countless hours digging, researching, taking historical accounts, but we will never truly know what they are about.  And, that is what makes it so interesting…the not knowing.

Brownshill Dolmen is considered a portal tomb.  While that, of course, is unusual and fascinating the true interest with this tomb is its size.  In the photos where people are present you can see how massive it is.  It is one of the largest in the Celtic world.  One must have been able to see this dolmen for miles when walking to it for ceremonial purposes.  But this begs the question…how did they build it?  The rear stone is a giant bolder.  Without modern tools like a trackter or crane it is nearly impossible to behold moving this stone not the mention the smaller yet still large ones that are holding the stone up.  Archaeologists believe it was levered up in small bits then filled with dirt while the larger stones were placed below it.  Then the dirt was removed to leave the large bolder elevated by the smaller stones.  Whatever the method the outcome is spectacular and is a must see if visiting County Carlow Ireland.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownshill_Dolmen

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Lemay Car Museum – Seattle Washington

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It’s really no secret that I am willing to travel anywhere. I seem to find enjoyment and interesting things and people anywhere I go. (Not to say anyone has to twist my arm to get me to Seattle.) But, it was my husbands birthday and I wanted to take him somewhere to celebrate. He is a Car Guy so I thought it would be fun to take him to a big car museum. We very much enjoyed visiting the LeMans Car museum in France and so I thought I would search something out a little closer to home. The car museums make my husband happy and I get to have something to photograph with consistent lighting that doesn’t move, cry, or complain! The two big museums that came to mind were Lemay in Seattle and the Ford museum in Michigan. So, I made the logical decision and went with the cheapest airfare which was of course was Seattle. The weather was amazing and the city was welcoming.

The museum did not disappoint. It had gorgeous architecture and was full of interesting and top rate cars. It turns out looking at my photos again that I must enjoy photographing the details more than the entire car. So, the results are lots of bits and pieces of cars and very few shots of the entire thing! I hope you enjoy them.

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Drombeg Stone Circle – Kinsale Ireland

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In celebration of Halloween I thought I would post a few photos of the Drombeg Stone Circle taken near Kinsale in Ireland. This stone circle was a magnificent example located in a gorgeous area overlooking the sea and lovely farms. Its hard not to feel something otherworldly when visiting these locations or even when looking at them in a photograph.  No one really knows what they were or are used for. There is much speculation about religious centers, time travel, ceremonial altars, etc and one can come to their own conclusions.  Drombeg itself is oriented in the direction of the setting sun during the midwinter solstice. Most of these circles are pre-christian era in their design. It makes me wonder how the engineering and their creation was so precise so early on.

Having visited countless numbers of these circles in Denmark, Ireland, Scotland, England, and France I can attest to the sense of energy at each one.  Whether this sense is real or imagined I find myself searching them out on the map everywhere I go never tiring of visiting a new one.

Happy Halloween readers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drombeg_stone_circle

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Disneyland all decked out for Halloween

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Disneyland gets all dressed up in fall clothes for Halloween. Who knew? Fall ribbon and flowers everywhere. Hay bales and pumpkins shaped like a mouse head. Jack Skellinton takes over the Haunted Mansion literally gutting and replacing the ride with new stuff. Children could enjoy a harvest festival full of crafts, pumpkin carving, face painting, and Disney characters dressed up on Halloween and fall costumes. Every Disney fanatic from all corners of the world dress up in costumes or various glow in the dark and pumpkin inspired Mickey t-shirts. Disney puts on a special Halloween street party. They even have Halloween themed fireworks shows at the end of the night.

Having been to Disneyland far too many time to count in polite company visiting for Halloween was a treat. Kids are even extra excited. Adults and inbetweeners are jazzed and in to it. Disney is always magical for children. But, visiting the parks during a holiday season makes it extra special for adults.


  
  
  
  
  
  

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Chateua des Tertres – Loire Valley – Onzain France

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With a little extra effort one can really add a lot of meaning and enjoyment by not only traveling to amazing places but also sleeping in amazing places! When I travel I always attempt to find interesting places to stay that are still affordable.  Let’s face it I am not rich and famous. But, sometimes I get lucky.  I found Chateua des Tertres, located in the Loire Valley, through Hotels.com.  It was very affordable, included breakfast, and turned out to be one of my favorite places to stay in France.  (Although, to be fair they were all wonderful.)

As if staying in a 19th century manor wasn’t enough we were awakened to hot air balloons floating by our airspace.  I believe I turned to my husband and exclaimed, “Really?  Is this actually happening?”  The photo of the balloons were taken from my hotel window seat!  I have to assume the passengers in the balloon were taking a morning tour of the nearby Chateaus and probably enjoying their view as much as I was enjoying mine.

The Loire Valley is full of history, archaeology, and of course food and wine.  And it just happens to be gloriously beautiful.   It’s hard to come home when you visit places like this.

http://www.chateau-tertres.com/index_en.php

Lovely view of the front of the Chateau

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This actually happened!  I took this photo right out the front of the house through our hotel french windows.

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On a chilly fall morning we took advantage of the hotel’s bicycle collection and rode through the grounds.

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View from the rear of the house

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Pea Soup Anderson’s rest stop for the ages

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Who hasn’t stopped here before? If you are from California then your travels have surely found you stuck in the doldrums of I-5 traveling north or south. California is a glorious state full of seriously amazing stuff. However, the in between bits are boring as all heck. And the state is big…very big. It takes forever to get from one end to the other despite what your GPS says.

One fun way to break up the long drive is to stop at Pea Soup Anderson’s for a Danish, some coffee, and a bathroom break. If you are lucky and have the time you can stop for a bowl of soup to give you the energy you will need to get up over the Grapevine and deal with the misery that is LA traffic.

   
    
 

French Street Art – Paris

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Street art has gotten quite popular these days. Like any art it is in the eye of the beholder. What was once, and often still is, considered illegal graffiti some is done with such skill it is hard to avoid enjoying them.

Below are a few photos, courtesy of my good friend Manuela Renz, during a trip she took to Paris a few years ago. I have always liked them even using them as my screen saver at work occasionally. It has always struck me as fun to see interesting art like this in a City known for its world class masterpieces nearby in the Louvre, other museums and chateaus throughout France.

147 2 20 Rue Ferdinand Raynaud (2) 54 1 6 Rue Vavin

628 6 6 Rue Bonaparte Academie Beaux Arts and street sign (

XX 6 art woman in red

     

Seattle gets prettier every time…

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Seattle gets prettier every time I go there.  In fact, it probably doesn’t get enough credit for its beauty.   A city surrounded by water and lovely mountains deserves attention.  And when you add world class attractions, public art, top rate museums, markets, and delicious food it really is a perfectly lovely way to spend a weekend.  (I suppose when the rain and clouds settle in for most of the year people might think different but it seems every time I visit I bring the glorious weather with me!)

My husband and I flew up for the weekend to visit the Lemay car museum.  (Another post for another day.)  While in town we visited the space needle, the aquarium, Pike’s Place market, the underground tour, and the EMP museum (Music, sci-fi, and pop culture.  What’s not to like there?).

The highlight of the trip for me was stumbling across the Pink Door Italian restaurant.  We just happened to be walking by and saw people eating on a beautiful balcony with an amazing view of the bay.  We walked around trying to find the entrance to the restaurant and couldn’t find anything but a pink door with no name.  We opened it and voila!  I’ll never eat anywhere else in Seattle again!

http://www.empmuseum.org/

Home

http://www.pikeplacefish.com/

https://www.undergroundtour.com/

http://thepinkdoor.net/

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Three Stadiums one trip

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My brother and our high school friend Eddie decided to take a baseball vacation. Why not? We flew to New York City to see a Yankees game before they tore down the old stadium. We also tried to take in a Mets game. Then we hopped on the train to go to the hallowed ground of the Boston Red Sox. The trip was just a ton of fun as any sports adventure should be.

My favorite part was tasting hot dogs at all three stadiums. Boston took the prize there for sure placing their dog on a piece of white bread folded over! This almost inspired me to visit the rest of the stadiums to taste their dogs but I thought of my waistline and decided to stick to my current plan instead.

It was great to see a game at Yankees stadium before they tore it down despite the fact it felt like it was 147 degrees outside. At one point, on the verge of heat stroke, I took a moment in the shade. It was there I met an old timer who had been going to the stadium since he was a kid. I asked him about his thoughts on building the new Yankees stadium. He thought the old stadium was just fine thank you very much. The way he looked at it the new stadium would only make it a better experience for those with money who would be in the new luxury boxes. Well, I can’t say that I disagreed with him there! I can only imagine what it was like watching the stadium you had visited for the last fifty years get torn down.

We took in a Mets game but were rained out! Thankfully I still got a hot dog at least!  (I’ll post hot dog photos some day if I can ever find them.  I know I took them!)

And then there was the Sox! Boston just has a great vibe about it. The stadium is old school and the fans are die hard. Hilariously and par for the course our seats were partially obscured by a structural post. But, it didn’t hinder our fun. Neal Diamond singing Sweet Caroline in person, well a recorded version anyway, is to Boston like the National anthem is for every other baseball stadium. I am pretty sure we called our other brother Sean when it played singing it in to his ear!

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